When it comes to clouds we have private, public and hybrid as the primary flavors. Private clouds have the privilege of being segmented further, but more on that in a minute.

According to Search Cloud Computing, a private cloud (also called internal cloud or corporate cloud) is a term for a proprietary computing architecture that provides hosted services to a limited number of people behind a firewall.

Attributes of a private cloud, versus a public cloud, include providing a hedge fund more control over their data, excellent client service/response times, and greater integration with hedge fund vertical-specific applications such as order management or portfolio management systems.

Now for the segmentation -- a private cloud can be:

Deployed on-site by an enterprise IT department and used only by the enterprise. This approach of an internal private cloud is typically used by large enterprises looking to expand or enhance the existing infrastructure and services delivered to users.

OR

Managed and delivered by a third-party private cloud service provider, such as Eze Castle Integration. This option is ideal for hedge funds and other firms drawn to the simplification and economic benefits derived from fully managed hosted IT solutions.

Analyst Thomas Bittman at Gartner helps provide greater color by saying, [a private cloud is a] “form of cloud computing where service access is limited or the customer has some control/ownership of the service implementation.”

“Graphically, that means that either the provider tunnels through that opaque boundary and limits service access (e.g., to a specific set of people, enterprise or enterprises), or the customer tunnels through that opaque boundary through ownership or control of the implementation (e.g., specifying implementation details, limiting hardware/software sharing). Note that control/ownership is not the same as setting service levels – these are specific to the implementation, and not even visible through the service.”

The following graphic shows the difference between customer private clouds and provider private clouds.

At Eze Castle Integration, our Eze Private Cloud Services are designed to provide hedge funds and investment firms seamless access to the technology and business applications they require to effectively and efficiently run their businesses.

To learn more about cloud computing at hedge funds, DOWNLOAD our eBook or check out our other HedgeIT articles HEREon the topic.